Sunday, August 10, 2008

We spent a day, which was not enough time, exploring "the Mall" of Washington, DC. Our first stop was the Jefferson Memorial. We were happy that we had just visited his home the day before. We were also sorry to have missed the cherry blossoms, but still enjoyed walking under the trees.

We will definitely need to go back some day to spend much more time in the many parts of the Smithsonian museums. I was surprised to find that this area is also very much a park for the residents of DC. There were festivals, soccer games, softball games, and more happening on the grassy parts.

The Lincoln Memorial was as awe inspiring as it had always felt when viewed as the setting for a scene in a movie. I still have the goal of visiting Springfield, Illinois someday and seeing his home. I am currently reading "Truman" by David McCullough about another modest man from humble beginnings who had to lead the country in perilous times of war.

I like the juxtaposition of the very tall Washington Memorial through the pillars.

Of course, the White House is under very tight security. The President was honoring the Queen of England this day. If you look closely, you will see that there is quite a crowd up close. Before this picture was taken, we watched the guard dogs tear apart the trunk of a car at the entrance and a man being led away in handcuffs. The Queen was in the country in honor of the 400th birthday of Jamestown, but that is another story for part III or maybe IV.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

I love this picture taken 5 years ago. David and Sally had been married in the San Diego Temple on Aug. 2. Andrew and Janae were married in the Mesa Arizona Temple on this date, Aug. 7. David and Sally were gracious enough to join in the reception for Janae and Andrew who were gracious enough to welcome them in on their night. Thus, I have this beautiful picture of two happily married couples, together. Congratulations to both couples on their 5th Anniversary. Thank you for the four "cuter than a bug" grandchildren that you have brought into the family.

Sunday, August 3, 2008

Since I haven't really vacationed this summer (you have all come to me), I've decided to share some pictures from our trip of May 2007. I had received my new digital camera but did not yet have a blog in 2007 so that I might share pictures with all of you. We flew from Phoenix to Nashville where we made sure to visit Hermitage, the home of Andrew Jackson, before driving on to Atlanta and business appointments. Glen is standing on the path that leads to the slave quarters and it is the back of the house that you see in the background. Even in May, Nashville felt hot and muggy.

After a night and most the day in Roswell, north of Atlanta, we drove to Asheville, NC, and stayed in this B and B. It was a beautiful town in the hilly part of NC. Amazingly, we tried out a Mexican restaurant here that turned out pretty good food for being so far from the source.

The next day we visited this grandiose home, the Biltmore, which is the largest private dwelling in the United States. Built by George Vanderbilt in the late 1800's, it contains 4 acres of floor space. Our favorite part, of course, was the green house and the garden.

We had planned to drive the Smokey Mountain Parkway all the way to Virginia. It started out as a very good idea, but quickly left us in a fog. A literal fog which slowed us down to about 15 miles per hour and blocked our view of anything but the road straight ahead. We finally found our way down the mountain at Boone, a town named for 'the' Daniel Boone. This led us onto an interstate which led us all the way to Charlotte, VA. Western Virginia was beautiful and green. After a very late night arrival due to our slow ride on the parkway, we got up the next morning and made our way up the mountain to Monticello, the home designed and built by Thomas Jefferson. It seemed smaller than I expected (perhaps because I had been to the Biltmore the day before:) It was very enlightening and entertaining to see all the inventions and extras which Jefferson had added to his special place.

Once again, I was fascinated by the garden area. The side of the mountain had been leveled to make way for a beautiful large vegetable garden and fruit orchard. It was indeed a wonderful mountaintop home. After our visit here, we drove to our accommodations nearer Washington, D.C. I'll leave you wanting more. Soon to come will be "The vacation before the blog, Part II."